Black Beauty
by PeoplesVictory
Summary: For over five hundred years Katherine ran from the Mikaelson family, traveling all over the world, never able to settle in for long. Through the years it was Elijah that kept in contact with her, warning her when his brother drew too close. This is just a one-shot about what really happened to them after England.


**This is the first fanfic I've ever done so reviews and constructive criticism is more than welcome. There may be typos in this, it was super late here when I wrote this and I tried to fix everything but may have failed. It's just something that's been floating around in my head for a while now. I happen to like it but let me know what you guys think.**

"I paint my nails black, I dye my hair a darker shade of brown; 'cause you like your women Spanish dark strong and proud"...

Katherine sat, back straight in her old-mannered way, running a brush through her dark curls, red glistening from her plump lips with one ankle crossed over the other; an old habit of hers she had picked up from the Victorian era. A cool breeze brushed against her already cold cheek making her stop her task, closing her eyes when a familiar hand rested against her shoulder. She could feel the brush of his nose against her cheek, the featherlight kisses he placed against the side of her neck, making a small mewl leave her lips. He had come back to her every once in a blue moon when his brother had his eye on something a little more important than chasing down a useless doppelgänger. She, desiring to feel young and naïve again would desperately cling to him each time along with the hope that he would stay instead of rushing back to his younger brother as he always did. These moments were sacred to them, secret, hidden away from prying eyes and twisted minds; where she begged him and he made empty promises into the night air; where their rolls were reversed and /she/ was the one loyal to a fault, begging for him to be truthful this once, trusting with all she had left and he was the one lying, using her just to find what little satisfaction he could before turning his back on her to walk out the door again, tossing a promise of one day over his shoulder. The game was always the same; they would pretend that this time would be different though they both knew the truth. Katherine would dress the way she knew he liked, curl her hair a little tighter, reminiscent of her younger human self. He would not put hardly as much work into his appearance or act, stepping in with his usual attire and serious expression.

"I paint the sky black

You said if you could have your way

You'd make a night time of today

So it'd suit the mood of your soul..."

Try as she may, Elijah never changed his mind, never chose her over Niklaus, never kept his promises, all but one; that he would return to her. Though this truth seemed to cause more damage for the desperate vampire than good. Every time he came her smile brightened, hope rising in her chest as he stepped into the room before it was all quickly torn away as he left before daybreak.

He gently removed the brush from her hand, guiding her to her feet.

"You look magnificent." He praised with a smile, granting her a light kiss upon the cheek. She feigned indifference, perhaps more so for herself at this point than for him. It always started this way; he would approve, she would give a curt "thanks" to hide the sudden flutter in her chest.

Elijah gently leads her to his chest, hands gliding over silk-smooth skin. Her dark eyes gaze up into his, her defenses visibly crumbling at his every touch. Katherine brings her hands up to rest against his broad chest, the coolness of his skin seeping though and she wonders what it would have been had he come to her when she was human. She wonders what it would have felt to have her body curled against his, her hear fighting against his cold. Maybe, she always thought to herself, he would have stayed then. Maybe he frailty would have been enough for him to protect.

"Oh, what can I do?

Nothing, my sparrow blue

Oh, what can I do?

Life is beautiful but you don't have a clue

Sun and ocean blue

Their magnificence, it don't make sense to you

Black beauty, oh oh oh

Black beauty, oh oh oh..."

They're wrapped up in each other now, hands roaming where they wouldn't dare under the sunlight. His lips memorize every inch of her lithe body, her soft mewls filling the emptiness of the room. Their nakedness pressed up against each other as if trying to melt into one. But fire and ice never truly bond, only she can no long tell which is which. Perhaps she isn't so cold, not the way she once thought. But he refuses to melt for her, at least, not completely. She wished he could see that he could be happy without that monster of a brother, that she could make him happy. She knows he never will.

"I paint the house black

My wedding dress black leather too

You have no room for light

Love is lost on you

I keep my lips red

To seem like cherries in the spring

Darling, you can't let everything

Seem so dark blue..."

He fills her very being, her nails raking at the tough skin on his back. It feels dull to him, not making him so much as flinch. She's soft, pushing at him to be slow, draw out the night but he's rough and hurried. Afterward she will wonder if he's always like this or if it's just her that bring that part of him to the surface. Rebekah did tell her she corrupts him, perhaps she does. Katherine will pretend that she intends to, that she wants him to be rough with her, careless. She'll pretend she's the same way, though, it's a lie every time.

Elijah's bite comes first, painful before spreading into pleasure throughout her body. He toys with her innermost thoughts, she allows it, opening herself to him fully to see everything she truly is. He finds her, every time, hidden and trapped beneath the rubble of her life, beneath this Katherine façade; he reaches through until a small hand reaches for his, trembling, crying from having been locked away. It's what he wanted. Isn't it? To find his Katarina. She wants to cry not because of what he finds, no, it's what she's been looking for. Her tears threaten their escape because she knows that he will be letting go soon and she'll be trapped again.

Slim arms tighten around his torso, her teeth finding his throat now. It's not the same, he refuses to open himself to her, making her feel like an idiot for having done so again. Elijah's blood is enough for her though, overly rich, intoxicating. They are connected in a way no human could ever fully grasp yet he seems to be so far out of reach.

Elijah waits for her to come crashing down, though she's not sure if that's his nobility or not. She doubts it. She feels her pleasure wash through her, Elijah tumbling after. Her arms stay locked around him for as long as he will allow which is never long enough.

"Oh, what can I do?

To turn you on or get through you

Oh, what can I do?

Life is beautiful but you don't have a clue

Sun and ocean blue

Their magnificence, it don't make sense to you..."

Katherine wakes before he does, the sun still at least an hour away from rising. She lays, curled against his side, long fingers delicately tracing patterns over his flesh. She hopes he will never wake, that way he can never leave. She, however, is bitterly disappointed when she feels him stir beneath her. He brings his hand up to stroke her messy curls.

"I have to go." He announces in almost a whisper. She feels her heart shatter. She doesn't bother protesting anymore, slipping from the bed in silence. She refuses to look at him even when he guides her into his naked chest. "I'll be back, I promise. One day this will end." She pushes him back, a dark rage suddenly flaring in her eyes. He reaches to her, prompting her to step back quickly.

"You're lying!" She hisses, angry tears slowly gliding over her cheek. "You say that every time. It'll never end for you, Elijah." She fights to be released when he pulls her back to him but to no avail, he's much older, much stronger. He peppers her face with apologetic kisses. His arms slowly wrap around her, one across her back, the other cradling the back of her head to him as if she were a small child he was about to pick up. She cries into his shoulder uncontrollably, a sudden fear of eternal loneliness gripping her soul. "Please, don't leave." She begs over and over again. "I can't take this anymore. I can't keep doing this." He sets her on the bed, her hands trembling.

"Would you rather I never come to you again?" She hates how weak he makes her feel, how small. Once, many lifetimes ago, a similar threat had passed his lips. She was no more able to allow this now than she was then. She stayed silent, feeling more like a scolded child.

"Why must you do this to me?" She whispered, vigorously wiping her own tears. "Just stay, Elijah. He doesn't need you. He doesn't /want/ you." She could see his growing indignation. The eldest original had never truly harmed her, not matter how rough he became but she knew he could be if pushed too far which had always been enough to keep her controlled. "I love you." She reached her hands out to cup his face as he knelt in front of her. The eloquent vampire did not bother with a verbal response, his head turning side to side, pressing delicate kisses to the palms of her hands. His hands slid up her back, fingers playing with the ends of her long hair as he looked into her eyes.

"You need to keep moving. He will go back to looking for you soon. You know what to do. Don't stay in one place for too long..." He got up slowly, leaving her trembling hands. She said nothing as he dressed, kissed her one last time before walking out of the door without a word.

"Black beauty, ah ah

Black beauty, ah ah

Black beauty, ah ah ah ah

Black beauty, baby

Black beauty, baby

He wouldn't find her again for another fifty or so years in a small town in Virginia. By this time she had learned her lesson. She grew cold to him, keeping her distance. Love was what had started this all five hundred years ago, love was what had tormented her since then. If she asked the two boys that fell for her over a century ago they would say that it was their love for her that destroyed them. It was love that destroyed everything. The naïve Bulgarian girl was long dead, she realized that Elijah may have been right all those lifetimes ago; there was no such thing as love, only loneliness.

"Oh, what can I do?

Life is beautiful but you don't have a clue

Sun and ocean blue

Their magnificence, it don't make sense to you..."


End file.
